. . . If not for the French naval blockade, Washington could not have surrounded and defeated Cornwallis. . .

For which thanks go to Benjamin Franklin for charming the French population to the extent that the king felt he'd be supported to start (continue?) the world's first world wide war between two superpowers.

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"Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but it's boring and I go back to being me.""You might as well be yourself, people won’t like you anyway.""Tres verbo dictom"

For which thanks go to Benjamin Franklin for charming the French population to the extent that the king felt he'd be supported to start (continue?) the world's first world wide war between two superpowers.

Ben is one of the more interesting of the FF. He was a royalist as was his son. He supported the crown, until he was personally shafted by it. He became a rebel and his son remained loyal. Family relations are so hard sometimes.

I made some bumper stickers some time ago that stated, “America was founded by Dissidents!”. It had the DoI for a background.

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"Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but it's boring and I go back to being me.""You might as well be yourself, people won’t like you anyway.""Tres verbo dictom"

Ben is one of the more interesting of the FF. He was a royalist as was his son. He supported the crown, until he was personally shafted by it. He became a rebel and his son remained loyal. Family relations are so hard sometimes.

I made some bumper stickers some time ago that stated, “America was founded by Dissidents!”. It had the DoI for a background.

DoI??

But yeah, Ole ben is one of my favorites...one of my historical heros. Ben and Jefferson are my favorites ( intrigue me most of the founders)

Among the founding fathers of the US, a man often overlooked is George Mason. Mason, along with Madison, insisted on amending the Constitution to include a Bill of Rights that limited the powers of the Federal Govt. His home (Gunston Hall) is open to the public, fairly close to Mt. Vernon, and rarely crowded during tours.

The loud buzzing noise heard there is reputed to be Mason spinning in his grave at what the Federal Govt has become.....